


Seishun Amor

by bellemelody



Category: Bandage (2010), Nobuta wo Produce
Genre: Community: amigo_exchange, Crossover, Friendship, M/M, Post drama, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-14
Updated: 2011-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-26 02:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/277462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellemelody/pseuds/bellemelody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shuji and Akira would always be together. In the future, they would make each other happy and sooner or later they will both realize it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seishun Amor

**Author's Note:**

> written for  Joo!  My eternal love to my betas and friends for handholding! Thanks to Ashi, Maia for plotting with me and to Lysa and Saya for beta :D

~Nobuta~

  


_I didn't find my friends; the good Lord gave them to me._

  


_Ralph Waldo Emerson_

A freshly baked pie filled the cozy, bright room with a delicious aroma. The table was laid out for three: the napkins folded artfully beside the plates, the chopsticks polished and the water glasses gleaming. Little plates loaded with snacks a bountiful on the table. On the kitchen table, there were other dishes waiting to be placed on the table. It was obvious at first glance that the food were prepared with love and lots of effort, appetizing edible flowers made from butter and vegetables, carrots that look like a rabbit and cucumbers like fingers. Not to mention the new lacy tablecloth bought just for the occasion and, the little pillows fluffed and arranged on the couch. The windows were kept open to let the fresh air in, in anticipation of the guests’ arrival.  
All the preparations made was a dead giveaway that whatever the occasion was, it was very special and very important.  
Near the huge window, a young woman looked into the outside world fidgeting, a clear sign that she was nervous. Her black hair framing her gentle features, her white silk shirt and black skirt looked a bit too formal for the dinner she prepared. The sun which a few hours ago shone brightly was now slowly hiding behind the horizon, coloring the sky in pastel tones. A soft smile played on her lips as she remembered beautiful memories. Thoughts of which gave her a warm feeling inside.  
She was holding an old picture. A picture of three teenagers, two boys with wide, goofy smiles flashing the peace sign and a girl whose black hair covered her face but you can still clearly see that her lips were curved in a poor imitation of a smile. She caressed the picture with a finger, laughing at the memories it evoked. She threw her watch a glance and tried to calm her nerves. It was almost time.  
She sighed heavily, putting the frame down on the table. She was glad that she finished her shooting early today and therefore had time to prepare dinner. Another quick glance to her watch, it was almost time. There was no reason to be so nervous, she tried to reassure herself. But she felt guilty, and the nagging feeling didn’t let go throughout her dinner preparation. She should have told them from the beginning but she just couldn’t. It was really strange.  
She did try a few times and mostly with Akira because she knew that Shuji was a skeptic when it comes to love. He told them that he doesn’t believe in love and what other nonsense, sounding like an old man who was world-weary and disappointed with love.  
She had told Akira:  
“I think I’m in love.”  
He dropped the plate which he had filled with cake and looked at her in shock, eyes wide opened. He then whispered, as if he couldn’t breathe :  
“Shuji?”  
He was in his Akira-shocked state and sat on her couch looking unblinking at how she cleaned the mess on the floor. Akira had only Shuji in his mind. In his simple reasoning that if he is in love with Shuji then everybody must also be in love with Shuji.  
She felt frustrated but left all attempts to continue the conversation, she was afraid to traumatize her friend.  
She knew that her friends had all the rights to know but she also knew that Shuji was too busy with his work and Akira was too busy with Shuji and Nobuta was in love. And for the first time. She wanted to savor the new feeling and keep it to herself but she suddenly felt the strange need to have her friends with her. Nobuta always had difficulties adapting to change and even if the change is nice, she still wanted her friends with her.  
She had the best time of her life when she met them. They came to her at a time when she was at the lowest point of her life. They taught her to love and enjoy life. She learned so much from them. And together they created a world where they could be happy, where she could be happy. They were her heroes, her precious friends. And even through the years, they have always supported her decisions. When she decided to become a reporter, Shuji and Akira ran with her from place to place to find a job and when she got one, they rehearsed with her and cheered her on. They chose an apartment together, somewhere near her workplace and in a good neighborhood. Even the couch in her room, Akira went and lied on every couch of every shop they went to, to find the most comfortable. This annoyed Shuji who just told Akira that all couches are the same.  
Nobuta trusted them, no doubt about that but her love life is not a couch nor is it an apartment. She had found someone very dear and knowing her friends, she wondered how they will react. They gave her so much but she thinks that with this matter, she can help them better.  
Her life would change, and theirs along with hers. It was not like that Nobuta would want to decide for them but what she had witnessed will prove her right. Shuji and Akira would always be together. In the future, they would make each other happy and sooner or later they will both realize it.

  


~Shuji~

  


_A successful person is a dreamer whom someone believed in._

Years ago, Shuji firmly believed that life was just a game and people should enjoy it to the fullest. Rules were always the same and it only depended upon yourself if you would win the game or if in the end you would meet with the huge “GAME OVER”. With every passing year, Shuji’s faith in this philosophy only became stronger but at the same time it underwent some changes. Life is a game but it is also a fact that things are not cut in stone, who would end up winning or losing. What is most important in life is that people could fail and end up hurting, but there will always be hands that are willing to help you stand up and continue with your life’s quests.  
Shuji always wanted to be a good person but he wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it. Looking into his reflection in the mirror, he winked at himself and thought that he was a step towards the right direction. He had a brand new suit on, the black tie at half Windsor, a last look at the mirror and Kiritani Shuji, producer is ready to change the world. He actually was not a producer but rather a manager, but he is absolutely satisfied with his work. The first sip of his hot coffee burned his upper lip; he has no time for breakfast and would take something later on. It was time to go, else he would be late. Shuji impatiently knocked on Akira’s closed door but got no response. He opened the door but the room was empty, only a voice singing some disjointed Spanish song emanated from the bathroom telling him that Akira was not yet ready. Shuji always wondered how he managed to get to work on time, it was a mystery. But when it comes to Akira, a lot of things were inexplicable. Shuji left a short note on the table:

Dinner with Nobuta tonight. Don’t forget.  
Shuji couldn’t be late, he had too much work and he was really curious about what Nobuta wanted to talk about.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_A real friend is someone who would feel loss if you jumped on a train, or in front of one._

Akira laughed at his own joke while Shuji just chuckled at the mental image that it conjured. They complimented her cooking and Akira said that he would be keeping the little rabbit forever because he looked like Nobuta. He took the salad and decided to make a school uniform for the rabbit and Shuji tried to help him. This was how they usually pass their dinners. They talk about serious things, laugh about their problems and spend a lot of time doing silly things to entertain each other.  
Now is the time, she decided, to be honest and tell the boys why she invited them today. Meanwhile, Akira left the carrot alone and started eating the noodles, making different sounds. Shuji, as if reading her thoughts, turned toward her and asked curiously:  
“What did you want to speak with us with? Problems at work?” She saw concern in Shuji’s brown eyes.  
“I love watching your face on TV,” Akira said, mouth full with noodles. He threw Shuji a look then at Nobuta. “Maybe, you should change your apron.”  
She looked at their faces and with a deep breath, said:  
“I am getting married…”  
Silence. One, two, three. She thought she can hear the sound of the wind and someone passing near her window humming some tune (her apartment was in the third floor.) And then a hiss let out by Akira as he accidentally dipped his finger in the hot pot.

  


~Shuji~

  


_If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?_

A plain melody played on the radio, a nice girly voice singing about first love. Shuji impatiently tapped the wheel, a traffic jam at this late hour was rate and absolutely unexpected. With a sigh, he concluded that the day was full of unexpected things.  
He was still shocked at Nobuta’s revelation. It was not like he found it strange that she was getting married but he had no idea that she ever had a boyfriend. What with all her mysteries and secrets. During all these years, she had her share of admirers, but she never showed any feelings towards them and now she was telling them that she would be someone’s wife soon. He could still remember how cold Akira’s hand was as he squeezed it under the table as she told them how she met her fiancé at the TV station. He was a professor at the University. Shuji listened to her voice but his thoughts were on Akira’s cold hand. The hands which usually were so warm, sometimes too much. He felt how shocked his friend was and Akira couldn’t even hide it.  
Akira had always been single, living in the same apartment with Shuji and the latter thought that Akira still had feelings towards Nobuta, no matter how many years had passed and no matter what he said. He knew it must be hard for Akira.  
When Shuji drove Akira home, the latter was so silent. It was so unlike the noisy Akira who always must show his feelings and thoughts in a loud and annoying way. Then Akira asked him faintly:  
“Do you think Nobuta will be happy with him?”  
Shuji sighed heavily:  
“We must trust Nobuta and support her decision. She needs it from us.”  
Akira nodded, Shuji watched his expression and he really wanted to know what his friend was thinking about. No matter what will happen, he will be nearby and would try to comfort Akira.  
They returned home. Shuji opened the door and let Akira enter first. They sat on the couch together and Shuji placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, the latter leaned in closer as if seeking for warmth. “She must be happy.” Akira said confidently. And Shuji smiled.  
The cars started moving again and Shuji decided to change the song. He was tired. His day started early today. This last few months, Shuji was running from one place to another trying to find a new contract and when he almost had it, the guy just ditched him. He waited for two hours with the producer but the guy never came. Shuji felt frustrated. No matter how hard he tried and how many times he explained that these meetings are important to someone who wanted to be a star, the arrogant guy just did everything in his own way. Sometimes, Shuji couldn’t understand why the hell he wasted his time with him. But then he remembers that the guy was really talented and it was Shuji’s job to make him popular and sell.  
The narrow streets, the loud music and the crowd walking the night and laughing shrilly, Shuji never liked this part of the city. He parked his car and switched off the engine. The street wasn’t his favorite but this area was all that his soon-to-be-superstar could afford and the man declined all Shuji’s attempt to find him an apartment in the better side of the city.  
Shuji went upstairs, grey dirty walls all around. He can hear a woman’s high-pitched voice, cursing and swearing on the next floor. There was a dark door with graffiti on it but it was so dirty that even that no one can read. He knocked on the door. Shuji waited for a few seconds but no one opened, like always. He pushed the door and it opened with a thump. The smell of cigarettes hit him instantly, and of something else. He saw a few bottles on the floor and knelt to pick them up. It wasn’t really part of his job to clean up the mess, but he couldn’t help it. Every time he entered he had the burning urge to throw everything out, open the windows wider and let in the breeze and refresh this room with countless of useless things littering the floor. He placed the empty bottles in a basket and looked around the room. It was empty except for all the litter scattered about. Shuji turned to leave when he felt something latched on to his wrist plling him back, his back landing on somebody’s chest.  
“So classy… I love how you smell.”  
He felt how the owner of the voice whispered into his ear, sliding his nose through Shuji’s neck, pausing at the junction where the collar of his expensive shirt began.  
“Two hours. We waited for you for two hours.”  
Shuji’s voice though calm was octave higher. He felt warm long fingers caress his chest through the shirt, making Shuji shiver under the touch, then he felt how his elegant jacket fell down the floor.  
“I was busy.”  
Shuji’s shirt was already unbuttoned. He turned and met with brown orbs, eyes half open, messy hair and a white tank with some stray strands. Shuji had an urge to comb the man’s hair to a more civilized style and change his clothes and give him a pair of huge sunglasses to hide the dark circles adorning his beautiful eyes. But he just stepped closer, pressing the other man to the now closed door.  
“New song?”  
Shuji closed his eyes, feeling how his shirt slid down and warm palms touch his bare chest.  
“You will like it.”  
A soft chuckle then a pair of lips on his tasting of cigarettes and something else that made Shuji’s blood boil in his veins.  
Shuji needed to relax now, he knew that Natsu couldn’t help it, no matter how empty he would feel later.

  


~Akira~

  


_A hundred hearts would be too few_

  


_To carry all my love for you._

Our lives are so arranged that if we lose something, we always after some time gain something else in return. This is the natural course of events, allowing a balance in life.  
After Shuji left Tokyo, Akira sat in his messy room, waiting for the so-called balance in his life because lately his messy world became even messier and it frustrated him. It was really rare for Akira to be in such a moody state. So he wasn’t sure himself on how to deal with it. He had no desire to walk, to talk, to leave his home. He was sure that if he would step out, he would notice how the world was still going on about its business and he really did not need it. For Akira, the world spun around him and his world spun around his friends. The only constant in his life right now is Nobuta, who sat beside him and was busy with some paper or postcards, he wasn’t sue and he wasn’t sure. Another alarm showing how troubled his feelings were.  
These past few days, they spent a lot of time together. Akira’s melancholy was eating him alive and he wasn’t the type to be just silent in such a state, so when he is distressed he’s noisy and loud. Nobuta tried to distract him, she even smiled a few times. Akira loved her smile but sometimes he missed her forced smiles a little bit, or maybe something else, he wasn’t sure. The sound a pencil scratching something on paper stopped and Akira turned his head slightly and was met with worried brown eyes.  
“Go…”  
Her voice sounded plain and calm. Akira raised his head which was cradled on his hand on the table and asked dumbfounded:  
“Where?”  
“Shuji and Akira must be together.”  
She looked into his eyes that only she could, sinking under his skin.  
“And Nobuta?”  
“I will cry for three days and after everything will be okay, I will smile…”  
Akira looked at her face with a serious expression but his thoughts were faraway. A new feeling was awoken, blooming slowly and spreading something new…  
When he saw Shuji who was fidgeting in his desk, eyes hopeful at the beginning of a new life, he felt it again deep in his heart. And he understood that if it was possible, he wanted to get married to Shuji and go to the zoo with him.  
Akira enjoyed living with Shuji’s family. He loved looking at Shuji when he’s doing housework seriously, tucking the stray curly strands behind his ear. Akira loved looking at Shuji especially when the latter slept. His face was always so peaceful and Akira could place a soft kiss after which Shuji would make the cutest noises but continued to sleep.  
Akira loved Shuji’s smell. It was always soft and very familiar. He loved how Shuji could be very serious and tried hard to achieve something, how he cared about others forgetting about himself and how vulnerable he can be sometimes. Akira loved these moments too, when he could put his hand on Shuji’s shoulder, close his eyes and think how he could transfer all his energy to his friend because most of all he wanted to see Shuji’s happy smile.  
Their last year in school was full of new, shy and sincere feelings that made Akira heart on the verge of explosion. He often placed a hand over it trying to calm his heartbeat. He was so charmed with the strong warm waves that caught him by surprise that sometimes he didn’t want to share it. He wanted to keep it all to himself, throwing glances at Shuji and hugging him tightly. He knew that this is destiny and one day he would open his feelings to Shuji.  
But everything has an end and one day their childhood came to end too. Shuji and Akira were absolutely unprepared for it. They were in the beach of that little town looking at the horizon lost in thought, of the future that was inexorably approaching. Akira threw Shuji a glance. He was looking at the sky with a frown like he hoped to find the answers written there. Diplomas in hands, the sound of the waves splashing, Akira drew a pig on the sand near him. He wondered if it was different for Nobuta to understand since she can smile now. His father called recently telling him that it was time to return and be an adult. Akira placed a chin on Shuji’s shoulder, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be an adult.  
“What next?” - Shuji voice sounded lost.  
“You are the producer here, you decide...”  
Akira looked at Shuji’s face, he doesn't care, and he will accept Shuji’s every decision.  
“Producer,” - the word rolled in Shuji’s mouth, he looked thoughtful.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things._

“And like this we will have delicious pasta and you can add some spices to your taste for a better flavor. This is Kotani Nobuko, today I introduced to you a very simple yet tasty Italian dishes and next week I will present you with a new recipe.”  
Nobuta’s voice was calm, with a perfect diction, her smile bright, perfect make up, hair in an elegant ponytail, after the light was switched off, she placed the plate of prepared pasta with a soft thud.  
She liked her work, she never thought before that she will like this routine with a lot of attention, bright light at her face and so many people around. It was very hard in the beginning, but after a year, they thought about the cooking segment, she agreed, because Akira said, that it will be great and she would smile on TV looking at him, Shuji laughed, telling that she will be like a serious classy woman in an apron with a big wooden spoon. The next week she was smiling on them from the TV.  
She heard how staff began clapping at her for finishing her segment perfectly. It was a live-airing. And when Nobuta smiled, looking at the camera, she knew that her friends received her message. Few times Akira tried to treat her with shrimps made with her recipe but throwing look at their strange color Nobuta refused to eat them. He felt offended and ended eating them by himself because Shuji refused to eat it too.  
Nobuta started to worry, after she told them about her marriage. Akira hadn’t called to her even once. She already missed his random phone calls just to throw a brief phrase or some nonsense about Shuji running at the building like crazy or other things that Shuji did or said. She wondered what again he has in his mind and she wanted to find out and to talk with him. Sometimes he had such ridiculous ideas.  
She spoke with Shuji about it, the latter promised to find out what was bothering Akira. She looked at the mirror, checking her hair; her fiancé will be here later for lunch.  
When she met Shintaro at the TV station, he had some recording as a guest in a segment in the same program where she worked. She had no idea how this meeting would change her life. They started seeing each other, sometimes in the café where he waited for her after work, sometimes in a park near the TV station. The University where he was working wasn’t far away and they met often talking about different things.  
Shintaro was few years older than she was. He had this kind of mature attractiveness that promised a peaceful life and good family. When he proposed to Nobuta, little bit shyly, but confident in his feelings, she was very happy. She felt different near him, he looked at her with shining eyes and slowly, Nobuta started loving the man because he was honest, kind, and he always looked at her like she was special.  
She knew that look, like the way Akira always looked at Shuji, but something else in Akira’s eyes, longing. Her friends were hopeless.  
She felt bad for not telling her friends about Shintaro but lately their life was a mess. She saw how Akira still kept his feelings and how it was painful for him and Shuji, he wasn’t looking for love. He was too much engaged to his work and he exchanged the definition of love for something different, cheaper.  
Maybe now it’s her turn to help her friends, to make them open their eyes and create another world, where they can be happy. But thinking how Shuji took Akira’s hand under the table, she thinks with a smile, that maybe she’s moving in the right direction.

  


~Shuji~

  


_A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked._

Shuji needed a rest. He couldn’t talk with Natsu when they’re not in the bed. Shuji felt that they speak in different languages and Natsu never could understand what Shuji wanted. Not really about what Shuji wanted, but more about what Natsu needed, but it’s so frustrating. The producer needed a new song, they have a good opportunity and Natsu could let this chance slip. Again.  
Shuji opened the door and saw the private elevator. He inserted the thin card to allow him to the rooftop. The click, silly melody, no doubt it was Akira’s choice and he found himself at the last floor of a skyscraper. There was a little table with Shuji’s favorite coffee brand, he made himself one and pushed the button of the coffee machine.  
This place was a paradise, Akira’s paradise that he created for himself. Akira said that he can’t work if he felt uncomfortable and the elegant office with a big dark wooden table and luxurious room for secretary was transformed in something that Shuji even cannot find the name for. But Akira felt satisfied, with big round room with a lot of windows, with little kitchenette and big round table, with a lot of papers and different things. Shuji wasn’t sure that Akira needed all these for work, the big TV and the couch in another corner. Akira liked watching Nobuta’s show and preparing something and trying after to treat Shuji.  
This was Akira’s place and the secretary was on another floor with all the staff. Only Shuji had a card enter here which Akira gave him. What really surprised and impressed Shuji was that despite all the silly requests and struggling with the decorations of the room, Akira was a good boss, who had very creative ideas and all his co-workers respected him. This made Shuji proud. He passed through the big glass door and found himself at the veranda with a few training simulators, a wooden table and a few chairs and nothing else.  
A hot cup of coffee in his hands, the wind slightly blowing his hair, the view from the rooftop of the building was absolutely breathtaking. He noticed Akira, who was drinking something in a long glass and this something had a strange color. Akira liked experimenting and Shuji really didn’t want to know what was inside.  
“Shuji!” - Akira looked at him with a smile.  
“Nobuta called me,” Shuji looked at Akira and the small frown appeared between his eyebrows, “She needs our help today.”  
Shuji looked expectantly. Akira stood and started walking towards Shuji.  
“I think she doesn’t love him.”  
“How would you know?” Shuji raised his brows, looking at his friend and then tried to stop him, his head was spinning already.  
“Shuji, she will forget about us!” Akira’s eyes were wide open as he hugged Shuji dramatically. Shuji tried to free himself and after struggling he succeeded. He knew it; Akira could be so obvious sometimes.  
“Are you jealous?” Akira looked shocked at Shuji.  
“Me!? Shuji! You don’t understand!” Akira looked at his friend with an expression that Shuji knew very well.  
Shuji sat on a chair with a heavy sigh. He really didn’t understand why Akira made everything complicated and what can it be else, that not simple jealousy.  
“So tell me,” he said calmly, drinking his coffee and feeling how the hot liquid nicely made him feel warm.  
“He will tell her not to talk to us anymore!” Akira exclaimed.  
“Are we in the kindergarten? Why should he?” Shuji couldn’t believe his ears. He didn’t even begin to understand how the thought came into his friend.  
“Because.“ Akira’s lips were in a thin line.  
“Explain.” Shuji was fast becoming impatient.  
“He will want to be the only one in her heart because when you love someone you want this person to be only with you.”  
And finally Shuji understood everything. He made a few steps towards his friend and asked him in a soft voice:  
“That’s why you weren’t calling her?”  
Akira just nodded. Shuji patted his shoulder:  
“You are an idiot. Today we will find a wedding dress for Nobuta, so be ready.”  
And with a laugh, Shuji left the rooftop. When he heard how the elevator slid down soundlessly he felt it too, the insecurities. Of course a lot will change, Nobuta’s life will change but right now she needs them and Shuji knew how important it was.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them._

  


_Ralph Waldo Emerson_

Every girl dreamed of the day when she would wear a beautiful white dress and give her heart and life to the man she loved. Sometimes Nobuta thought about it too, but recently she thought about it often. She nicely declined her mother’s proposition to accompany her and help her choose the dress. This important choice she can trust only to two people in whole world, but now she started doubting it. She felt nervous, looking in the big mirror at her reflection with a white dress with a big fluffy lacy skirt and a lot of sparkling stones, they called it “princess style” and Akira chose it himself. She felt like a big cake and you just have to put a little bit of cream on her head and the picture would be complete. She sighed looking at herself when heard her friends’ conversation, who were standing near her changing room.  
“What did you give to her?” Shuji raised his voice. Nobuta was sure he has that little frown between his eyebrows.  
“Because she must be like a princess!” came the stubborn answer. “And she needs a crown too, with lots of diamonds. Every princess must have it. I will buy it for her.”  
“NO!” Shuji’s and Nobuta’s voices were heard at the same time.  
She opened the curtain and went to her friends. Shuji looked at her dress, then at her face, licked his lips nervously and left the room fast.  
Silence.  
“You look beautiful.” Akira started first. Nobuta just sighed and didn’t answer.  
Silence.  
“Nothing will change.”  
Her eyes were so serious and she saw how Akira tried to look somewhere else, but she touched his sleeves and said, “I’ll be here.”  
Shuji returned with another dress. Elegant and simpler and when Nobuta wore it, she understood that she was right with her decision. She gently touched the fabric with her finger and turned around to her friends, but they already were near the shoes shelf arguing about which one to choose. Shuji took a pair and Akira hugged him exclaiming that he is the king of shoes, and Shuji tried to free himself while Akira hugged him even tighter.  
Sometimes she wondered how long her friend will suffer alone, bearing this pain and how long her other friend would walk around in circles absolutely lost.  
They chose a dress, a pair of shoes and everything that Shuji said she needed. Shuji looked contently at his choice and Akira winked with a smile.  
Afterwards they were sitting in a cozy, little café eating and talking about different things that happened that day. Akira made pasta from Nobuta’s recipe and let his secretary eat it. The poor girl started crying, he had added to much pepper. Nobuta told them about her funny assistant who always stepped on her feet. But then she noticed that Shuji was silent. He smiled and laughed with them, but didn’t tell any story. Akira gave Shuji more fries, and Shuji just obediently opened his mouth. Akira’s hand was always on his shoulder, like warming him.  
She sipped her Earl grey tea and wondered if Shuji ever noticed Akira’s feelings for him or maybe he never even suspected anything?

  


~Shuji~

  


_Life is not one thing after another. It's the same damn thing over and over!_

Irritated? No! Enraged! This was the only way Shuji could describe his feelings, he pushed the door with a loud bang in the same apartment, that he already knew by heart and saw the face of that hopeless guy who was sitting and playing his guitar, pretending that he didn't understand anything and even dared to raise his eyebrow at Shuji's violence towards the poor door.  
“You did it again!” Shuji didn't even try to hide how upset and irritated he was.  
Natsu pursed his lips and let his finger touch the guitar strings, making a few painful sounds. Shuji had a feeling that Natsu played straight at his open nerves and he had this faraway look in his eyes that drove Shuji to despair.  
“Have you lost your mind?! How could you act like this with the producer, were you drunk again? Just tell me!” Shuji was shouting already, but he looked at the other man's brown orbs and he wasn’t sure if Natsu was even listening.  
All these months it was a race, every day, when Shuji tried to grab as many opportunities as he could. If Shuji had any illusions, when he met Natsu everything was gone. That was just sex, because Natsu wanted to make Shuji shut up and nothing else. The bitter smile played at Shuji's lips. He didn't understand why he was here, why he still wanted to help Natsu. These words that he threw at the other's face, he did it so many times, trying to explain, but everything felt pointless, and Shuji was tired. He couldn't fight alone. If Natsu decide to bury his talent and his life, who was Shuji to stop him. Shuji just breathed heavily.  
“I don’t understand you! I don’t understand you at all! This is your life! You are destroying it with your own hands!” his voice was tired, he saw how Natsu looked at him and he already knew what would follow.  
Natsu stood at his feet, he looked from half closed eyes, lazily placed the guitar on the couch, took a few steps and then he was kissing Shuji, gently, slowly, like he was asking for forgiveness, his hand at other's nape, playing with the soft hair. Shuji closed his eyes. The kiss was bitter for him, and he remembered so much, the same kisses with the same meaning and always the same scenario again and again. He felt how Natsu embraced him, caressing his back carefully, while his lips trailed his long neck and in this moment something snapped in Shuji. He opened his eyes and felt suffocated.  
Shuji pushed Natsu, the other looked surprised, eyes wide open and so vulnerable, like Shuji had just hit him or done something even worse. Natsu eyes were so dark and expressive in his handsome face.  
“So that’s true, you were drunk?” - not a question, but statement.  
“This is my life, you said it yourself,” - his lips swollen, voice hoarse. Natsu never talked provokingly or daringly, he was always calm and he decided everything for himself.  
A bitter chuckle left Shuji lips and his words sounded harsh. He stabbed with every phrase, because he had decided to.  
“It is. You can dress like you want and forget about other people and your success. You can spend all your life miserably pitying yourself, that’s your right. But I’m done with you.”  
Shuji looked at dark eyes and maybe it was just his imagination or he really hurt Natsu, but it was his aim. He was near the door, when he threw the last phrase:  
“I begged them to listen to you again. Next Friday and you better wear a clean shirt.”  
The door closed and Shuji left, feeling empty, like always.

  


~Akira~

  


_If you're alone, I'll be your shadow._

  


_If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder._

  


_If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow._

  


_If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile._

  


_But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me._

Akira sat on the floor, hiding his feet under the kotatsu, looking around at the not very big room crammed with two beds and a lot of things, that he found necessary to bring here and that Shuji said “cluttered up” the room. But Akira thought that if they were now adults they would need everything, even a blow up toy mallet and gigantic sunglasses with a moustache and the collection of photos from high school with Nobuta in them. He brought his little pig and glued it to the dormitory room door, writing in big letters: “Nobuta Power”. When Shuji took a duster to remove it, Akira hid the door behind his muscular chest and exclaimed that if Shuji wanted to be a producer he must believe in Nobuta Power.  
That evening they met Nobuta on campus. She was in another department. She had decided to work in media, on TV, and Akira felt so proud for his friends. His father wanted Akira to major in advertising, but Akira sometimes visited Nobuta or Shuji's classes because he felt bored sitting alone. With Nobuta he played Battleship and with Shuji he played the “touchy-touchy” game that he invented. The rules were simple; he tried to tickles Shuji and Shuji had to keep a stone face. Shuji wasn’t aware of the rules, so when he hit Akira with his notebook later, Akira always laughed loudly and professor asked them both to leave the lecture hall. And they spent time walking in the park, or sitting in a very comfy café drinking hot chocolate with some dessert and talking about nonsense. But sometimes during this idiotic and absolutely not agreeable game for Shuji, Akira turned aside, with red cheeks or ran from the room. For Shuji it was impossible to understand what was going on in his friend's absurd mind. And Akira needed to find his room and take a cold shower. Sometimes his life was too hard.  
Nobuta liked cooking and after a few days living in the dormitory, their little room filled with mini ovens and rice cookers and every day she made something and they went to a little park near the university for a picnic. Akira loved lying on the grass with a full stomach and listening to his friends laugh and he loved feeding Shuji, because later Shuji was always very busy with his books and classes and different friends to eat properly.  
On rainy days, they preferred to stay in the room, sometimes with Nobuta, but she had friends and they went together to a café preparing for seminars, so Shuji and Akira were left alone in the room. Akira loved these moments the most. Shuji would pick up a guitar (Akira was sure they would need guitar in a little room, no matter how Shuji resist) and his fingers brushed the strings and he sang something in a soft, slightly hoarse voice. His eyes half closed, he licked his lips during the refrain and Akira heart sank for a moment, and he looked at the long neck and brown eyes and lips, that moved and hypnotized him. Akira felt happy.  
In winter, on snowy, cold days they often fell asleep with their legs hidden under the kotatsu for warmth. Akira couldn’t sleep; he looked at his best friend's peaceful sleeping face and very gently embraced him. When they woke up Shuji's face was the first thing he saw. Later, he would rub his eyes and run to bathroom in a hurry, because they had just few minutes or they would be late.  
Akira didn't like parties, he liked the comfort of their cluttered room and the smell of something tasty that Nobuta prepared. But Shuji thought that Nobuta needed more fun and love in her life and he would drag his friends to a party on campus, with scantily clad girls, something to drink, loud music and a very happy dancing crowd.  
Akira found it interesting, but he preferred to stay with Shuji, feeling his cold legs under the kotatsu, Nobuta staying with them, sipping some lemonade and giving him chips and after they were all dancing and drinking, Shuji would give Akira a really wide, happy smile. Akira felt relaxed, Nobuta left to meet a few girls from her course and Shuji kept dancing, tipsy already.  
When Akira brought Shuji home - home, he liked the sound of that - he helped his friend lay on a bed, sitting near him and looking at his sparkling brown orbs. He confessed his feelings in a low voice, because Akira was sure he wanted only Shuji and no one else. He took Shuji's wrist and gently caressed his palm, placing soft kisses on the sensitive skin.  
“I love you.”  
But Shuji had fallen asleep and Akira's words were left hanging in the silence. In the morning Shuji had a head ache and he dressed very fast, because he would be late. Akira hugged him, like always and they left the room like always. Nothing changed.  
This feeling that had been for a long time in Akira's heart, but only recently he understood the meaning of it, was blooming with different colors, making his heart skip a beat feeling Shuji's closeness. Love. Akira was sure in it. He placed a hand on his chest, looking at Shuji's frown while he tried to find his socks under kotatsu, and it was pounding and it was so sweet. He was sure, that in this moment he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach and a lot of sparkling hearts appear around his head and music, looking at Shuji he always heard something very romantic and gentle.  
Akira thought, that maybe they didn't need words and everything was clear, they were always together and he often kissed Shuji, when Shuji slept, but one day he understood, that maybe for Shuji everything was absolutely different.  
Akira's lesson finished earlier and he walked near cafeteria when he wanted to drink something sweet and buy cute cookies for Shuji. He was already near, when he noticed two figures staying in the shadow, in a corner of the building. Something was too familiar, so he took a few steps closer and he recognized Shuji, his eyes closed and another guy kissing him.  
Akira froze; he touched his chest and leaned on the nearest wall. The butterflies died inside and he could hear the heave and painful motions of a requiem inside his head. He didn't know how much time he spent there, Shuji already left with a smile on swollen lips and Akira couldn't move. Nobuta found him and they went to the park, just to play catch ball, without words, only with pain in Akira's heart and Nobuta's concerned face. Akira looked at Nobuta and smiled. He thought, that maybe for her it was painful too.  
For Akira, Shuji's happiness was more important than his own. And Shuji was happy. He was smiling, his eyes shone with joy, and he often had a dreamy expression while lost in his thoughts. Akira didn't say anything, he wanted to hide this memory of someone else kissing his Shuji in the old stinky pot at his uncle's house.  
After a few months, when Akira returned home one day, he found Shuji sitting alone on his bed without a light. He was looking at one spot, Akira sat near him, placing his chin on Shuji's shoulder.  
“Love hurts” - Shuji voice was hoarse and he spoke like he was crying a lot and had so little strength to even talk. Akira nodded, placing a hand on Shuji's shoulder and embracing him.  
That's true, thought Akira. Love hurts, he understood it too well.  
In that moment sitting with Shuji and witnessing to his silent tears, he thought he could hear something crack, like something being shattered into a million pieces and after the dull pain subsided, he could feel his heart broken.  
The next few weeks Akira spent sitting at his classes, looking at nothing and not hearing anything, his fist clenched, anger rising, boiling his blood. He hit the table with all his might, and all eyes in the lecture hall were on him. They asked him to leave the hall and he looked at the fissure that appeared on the surface.  
He was sitting alone at the lonely bench looking at the sky, thinking about a faraway beach and the sea and Shuji's big smile. He slowly opened his hand at looked at his palm which held red traces of his nails. He remembered Shuji's hand, that squeezed his hand gently, when his father called and said that after graduating a place in his office was waiting for Akira.  
He could be with Shuji always, laugh with him, live with him, talk about different things, smell the familiar fragrance, protect him and love him. He could do it, even if Shuji didn't love him and only accepted his affection out of habit. And he would, because Shuji was the most important person in his life.  
He felt someone's presence, and saw that Nobuta was sitting nearby and looking at the sky with him.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_A good friend is cheaper than therapy._

A long week at work and preparation for a wedding left Nobuta tired, but she would never forget about Shuji's birthday. She came to her friend’s apartment. After finishing university, they decided to live together or putting it more correctly, Akira decided to live wherever Shuji lived. Their lives became busy, after Akira started working with his father and Shuji found work in the same building, working with new talents. They took this apartment, because it was near and Shuji could afford it, so they paid together.  
It was a nice place, she liked it, it looked like Shuji and Akira, cozy and little bit messy with a lot of things that reminded Akira about the most beautiful memories in his life, and all his memories are beautiful, so it was cluttered, like their room in university, with a clean kitchen and wooden chopsticks at the counter and souvenirs, that Shuji's mother sent to him every time.  
They sat together with Akira at the couch, thinking about what to give Shuji as a present. Akira was silent, not paying attention to her suggestion, she had a feeling that something happened.  
“Akira! What is wrong?”  
She saw how he closed his eyes and tried to stand up, mumbling about something he forgot in his room. She caught him by his sleeve and said gently:  
“Tell me.”  
She noticed how he wrinkled up his nose, when he spoke, his voice sounded sad:  
“Shuji is not happy.”  
“Why?”  
He told her, how the last few days Shuji was always sitting home alone, with stubble and messy hair and empty eyes in a dark room with his guitar in his hands; he was playing something and singing in a very low voice. Shuji suffered and Akira couldn't help. He couldn't do anything.  
“You can,” - she said gently.  
“I can’t!” –He insisted, “I can’t do anything with it and you? Do you love him?”  
For a second, Nobuta feel lost because of the sudden change in conversation, but then she understood that Akira meant Shintaro.  
“Yes, I think,“ she said calmly.  
“Are you sure? Because if you still love Shuji, you would make the biggest mistake of your life.”  
Nobuta couldn't believe her ears, but the pain in her friend's eyes, made words that were ready to slip from her mouth stop.  
“Am I? Or maybe you?“ Her voice was calm and her eyes looked soft, sinking under Akira's skin. He had the same expression, like many years ago, when she hit him, and she started feeling guilty for being too harsh, but he had to understand it, she didn't want to see him looking hopeless and in despair like today.  
“You can't hide and avoid your own feelings or you will make the biggest mistake of your life.” - she places her soft hand on his warm one.  
She was right, he knew that. They forgot about Shuji's present, and Nobuta hugged her friend's broad shoulders, feeling his pain.  
When Akira found the words in his heart again to tell Shuji everything, they both would have a lot of happy birthdays, wishing together and making their wishes come true. That was what Nobuta wanted to believe.

  


~Shuji~

  


_True love is when you put someone on a pedestal,_

  


_And they fall - but you are there to catch them._

  


_Or_

  


_No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers._

Shuji was staying in another room, looking through the thick glass at Natsu. He came after all. When their eyes meet, Natsu just nodded lightly. He was in a suit with a white shirt with the top buttons undone, hair in a low ponytail. Perfect, he looked exactly like Shuji wanted him to, exactly like a serious guy who wanted to be a star, a man who cared about his image and his future. And then he started singing.  
The gentle, velvet voice with a heartbreaking melody and Shuji felt a lump appear in his throat. Behind his eyes was another picture. A little bar with a stage , a lonely figure with a guitar on the stage, messy brown hair, childish smile on his lips, and a song so beautiful, so touching sang with a gentle voice playing at your open nerves, sinking under your skin, making you feel so much that you wanted to cry. That day, Shuji decided to produce Natsu, to help him because he always believed in his talent. When Natsu was singing or playing his guitar he was in his element and it was amazing.  
He looked at the man in front of him and he looked relaxed, lost in his music, open faced and half closed eyes. He had this special aura that make him an exception and shine. And Shuji felt how the room became smaller, the gentle voice wrapped him and a lot of other things. Things that Shuji had not noticed before suddenly became clear.  
Shuji wanted to create another Natsu because he thought that with his talent he needed a little push to answer other people’s expectations and become popular. But maybe he was wrong, absolutely and horribly wrong. Natsu didn’t need anything. He mustn’t try to be someone else and he was good as he was. And all this month Shuji had been knocking in a closed door, never understanding Natsu who loved only music and maybe sometimes, little bit of Shuji.  
“Don’t leave me. I need you.”  
Natsu whispered these words to Shuji earlier and his eyes were looking straight at him with a plea. Natsu needed him, he wanted to have him around and care for his career, give him some warmth and just be near, but Shuji didn't need Natsu in his life. Maybe it sounded cruel, but Shuji knew this was true.  
Shuji woke up from his thoughts and met with Natsu eyes, who was still singing. Shuji was wrong, Shuji made a mistake. He wanted to run away from those eyes that always looked with passion but never with reproach, from his guilt, from his wrongs, to loosen the tight necktie, to breath and to run. The last thing he noticed was Natsu surprised facial expression and his song ringing in Shuji’s ears. He opened the door with force and ran as fast as he can. He ran along the long corridors, he ran so fast without paying attention to his surroundings and the people who threw him surprised and curious looks. He pushed the last door and the elevator open with a silly melody as he swiped the thin card. Shuji’s heart was pounding.  
Shuji thought about Akira. Shuji envied Akira’s ability to be free, to not care about any restriction, to be himself and feel comfortable in his own skin without any regard for other people's expectation. He was free, like Natsu was, before Shuji started making a star out of him.  
Shuji never tried to change Akira, but with Akira he didn't need to respond to other people’s expectations. He could be himself, he didn’t need to act cool, say harsh words, or try to influence and reach his aim. He opened the door and almost ran to the veranda. He needed fresh air.  
Suddenly he felt himself so silly, running from his own mistakes, from Natsu but when he noticed a man on the rooftop his back to Shuji and Shuji had the strangest desire to run and hug the broad shoulders and forget about everything. The latter turned his head, as if he felt something and their eyes met. Shuji didn't need to say a word, Akira always understood him.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_…in sickness and health, until death do us part._

The little elegant bouquet with red and white roses in her hand, her fingers were trembling, touching velvet petals. The day finally came. Today was her wedding. She looked at the big mirror, at the beautiful wedding dress, at her hair and little crown that Akira bought in the end. Her hands were trembling slightly and she took a deep breath. Her mother kissed her gently and with tears in her eyes wishing her to be always happy, her father didn’t say a word, but she saw how touched he was looking at her.  
She could count the minutes that separate her from her new beginning and this though filling her with joy and anticipation, and in the same time she feel how very slowly fear sneaking its way in her heart, now from the big mirror she saw the reflection of a lost girl who wandered in darkness and couldn’t find the right door. She clenched the bouquet in her hands.  
The soft knock in the door disturbed her panicking thoughts and she heard the familiar voice:  
“Can we come in?”  
Shuji’s eyes smiling looking at her dress, her friends are beautiful and so elegant in their tuxedo staying near each other, and she bit her lower lip, feeling too sentimental.  
“What is wrong?” Akira asked with a quizzical frown on his face. “You want to run already?”  
They looked carefully at her expression and she felt like she would cry now, but Shuji in a hurry came near and said:  
“No crying, you forgot about your mascara,” They heard Akira laughing and she smiled too. Shuji looked seriously into her eyes, taking her hand:  
“Everything will be okay. If you want to run away, we will wait near the exit,” - Shuji said with a wink.  
“Exactly!“ Akira nodded seriously few times.  
It’s already time, she must go, Shuji left first and Akira gently poked her cheek.  
“Nobuta power, remember? You will be happy!” He said those so confidently that she couldn’t hold her smile.  
“I will,” Her voice trembled little bit, but she feel better. When Akira turned to leave, she touched his sleeve and said in a whisper, showing in the door where Shuji was waiting.  
“Tell him. “  
He nodded again.  
When she repeated her vows and looked at the eyes of the man she loved so much, Nobuta thought that she definitely would be happy and in this day she has few wishes and they will definitely come true.  
When the ceremony was over and all guests had taken a picture with the newlyweds, they have a party at the beautiful garden decorated especially for wedding, she was met with Shuji’s wet eyes. He can be so sentimental and after Akira whispered something in his ear and they left together. A little smile played on her lips.

  


~Shuji~

  


_Tell the truth and then run._

The wedding was held in a very lovely place. It was on a garden with very green trees decorated with garlands of white flowers, the tables laden with food and the guests elegant. There were a lot of guests, most were Nobuta’s now husband’s friends. Shuji was still awed by the beautiful ceremony. When he heard Nobuta’s words, said in a calm voice he felt that being in love must be beautiful; to spend your whole life with only one person, sharing everything, loving each other, cherishing and protecting each other. He looked at Nobuta’s gentle profile and wished her happiness with all his heart. She deserved it, his brave best friend whom he met a long time ago near the old willow tree.  
He started smiling remembering that day. He threw another look at Akira who was beside him, a bit tense, all emotions in his face. Shuji takes his hand and squeezed it which became a habit a long time ago. Sometimes, he sees his friend with a sad expression and he knew that something was bothering him. But with Akira, it was sometimes difficult to tell and Shuji respected Akira’s desire not to share. But he still wants to help. So he just held Akira’s hand and the latter’s looks surprised him. They sat together in silence and Shuji hoped that everything will be okay because not everything in life could be changed to be better.  
But he noticed that lately something really strange was going on. Akira would throw him looks like he wanted to say something and sometimes even came closer but in the last minute turned around and pretended that he needed to talk with Nobuta’s mother which made Shuji even more suspicious. He was already tired with the cat-and-mouse play and decided to ask straight what was bothering his friend. Akira was suddenly so close and whispered his lips almost touching Shuji’s ear making him shiver that they needed to talk. After which he headed somewhere without looking back, while Shuji stood there stunned touching his ear. He followed his friend a bit later. Maybe something really did happen, maybe because of Nobuta or something else that is bothering Akira or maybe because of the wedding. A million of thoughts passed through Shuji’s head.  
Akira stood in front of him, they were alone but they could hear the light music coming from the wedding party. Akira’s face was so serious and his eyebrows were furrowed. Shuji patiently waited for Akira to start and say whatever was bothering him.  
“I want you to stop it.”  
That was unexpected, Shuji thought not understanding what was this all about.  
“Stop what?”  
“Hurting yourself, wasting your life and suffering because of it.”  
Shuji heard it very well, every word and the desperate expression on Akira’s face. He looked at his feet. Maybe Akira was right, his life was a mess and even if Akira never spoke with him about his relationships before, Akira must have remembered his breakdown and he must have worried. So Shuji just smiled and tried to reassure his friend:  
“Don’t worry, I will be ok,” A soft smile at his lips.  
What followed next came so fast that it was difficult for Shuji to process it. He felt a pair of lips kissing him and strong hands holding him. In this moment, he can only feel because the whole situation seemed surreal. Absolutely lost in the sensation and in the force of the tongue that explored his mouth with tenderness and something else so passionate, Shuji just closed his eyes and answered the kiss. And as sudden as it started, it ended and Shuji opened his eyes feeling dizzy.  
He saw Akira’s glossy eyes and lips. Shuji slowly licked his own the memory of what just happened lingering in his hear. Then Akira said with the same desperate expression: «I love you.”  
He turned around and left, leaving Shuji alone absolutely shocked.

  


~Akira~

  


_Rome was not built in a day._

If a person does something very embarrassing, maybe he can just close his eyes and when he opens them, everything would be as it was before. Akira wanted to do just that, to go back to that point in time when he didn’t kiss Shuji yet and didn’t see his shocked eyes. Akira was sitting in his room trying to hide from the whole world and from one particular person, his best friend. The one whom he loves desperately for so many years and whom he just kissed and from whom he just ran away from. Akira touched his cheeks and he thought that if he wasn’t feeling so embarrassed and lost, he would leave the room and call an ambulance. His temperature was too high.  
But he just can’t so he sat in his room listening to Shuji vacuuming his room. When Nobuta told him to confess and he thought about it. It seemed to be the best and a genius idea but when he finally did it and met with Shuji’s eyes, he felt how his heart fell somewhere in the vicinity of his feet and wished the ground would open and eat him whole.  
Akira sat near the door and listened attentively on what Shuji was doing on the other side of the wall. He was afraid that Shuji would pack and leave the apartment with a loud bang. But what surprised Akira was Shuji was still inside the apartment and was even preparing something which suspiciously smelled like gyoza.  
At the end of the day, Akira was so tired sitting near the door and was really hungry. He counted until 10 a few times, then he counted all the pigs that he glued to his wall, different shapes and forms but which reminded him of Nobuta nonetheless, before he was able to open the door. He tried to do it without being noticed and just run to the fridge and take something to eat and run back. But he used to much force opening the door that it hit the other wall with a bang.  
Shuji was sitting at the couch with a journal. He looked so relaxed and fresh with hair still wet from his recent bath, which Akira also heard. Shuji raised his eyes and Akira froze on the spot, afraid to move.  
“Are you hungry?” Shuji’s voice was so calm and Akira threw a look at his lips trying to fight the childish urge to close his eyes.  
Maybe it was the first time in his life that he felt so stupid. And he just nodded, following Shuji to the kitchen. With unhurried movements, Shuji took a plate and took the gyoza that was already cold and heated it in the microwave.  
Akira’s eyes was glued to Shuji’s back still not sure what to say or what to think. He even thought that what happened during Nobuta’s wedding was just his imagination. Then he gulped when he remembered the feel of Shuji’s lips on his, that was real. No doubt about it.  
He was eating in silence, feeling Shuji’s eyes on him. Sometimes, their eyes met and Shuji smiled but Akira would just look at his plate like he was afraid that his gyoza would run away. He played catch with them with his chopsticks, sometimes the gyoza won and fell down from his plate and he would fell how his neck would become red hearing Shuji’s chuckles at his actions.  
Shuji rose from his seat and Akira felt it again, the very bad feeling. Akira was so lost in his apocalyptical thoughts that he jumped when Shuji placed a cup of tea in front of him with a thud. Then their eyes met.  
Akira rose from his chair and they stood very close with each other, so close that can smell Shuji’s shampoo. Shuji spoke first, his voice calm but Akira can see his stormy eyes, a myriad of emotions coursing through the depths of those brown orbs. Akira was not sure whether it was a good sign or not.  
“Yesterday, what you said, you…” Shuji eyes were so deep and so familiar, Akira was lost again and he remembered now, all the insecurities went to the second plane and only Shuji big eyes left and this feeling that was in his heart so many years.  
“I love you, always has.“ Now it was so easy to say it, feeling his own heartbeat and the warm waves that came over him, the waves of so sweet and sometimes bitter feelings, that filled his heart and he thought that he will explode because of all the feelings that he had for Shuji, all his love and all his desire.  
He saw the smile, the same smile, that so many years ago looked at him at the beach in the little town, where they were alone. And then Shuji kissed him.

  


~Nobuta~

  


_Friends are kisses blown to us by angels._

Nobuta looked at the blue sky, a soft smile gracing her lips, the wind blowing her blue silk dress. She looked at the beautiful cerulean ocean and felt very happy. Her honeymoon just started. A short message on her phone woke her early, but she was glad because she saw the sunrise that painted the horizon with warm colors. If she were a painter, she could take her watercolors and paint the beautiful sunrise to remember this day, this particular moment. She is very happy, her heart overflowing. No matter what happened tomorrow, she may be sad or feeling something else but that would be another day. Today, she is just very happy.  
Years ago, when she was like a blind mole digging absolutely alone in the darkness, hopeless and scared until she met them. Her meeting them was nothing short of a miracle. A miracle that changed her life for forever, made her believe that things are never impossible.  
She felt someone hug her from behind, suffusing her with warmth and safety, warm lips kissing her forehead. This is her miracle now.  
Just a very short message: “Shuji and Akira together” and she knew they finally caught her drift.

  


~Shuji~

  


_True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights._

  


_If you hear bells, get your ears checked._

  


_Erich Segal_

Shuji was never one to seek for love. He has never experienced the feeling and in the end he reached to a conclusion that love is something that people invite into their lives to make it more interesting. The passion, the anticipation, the thrill that made you shiver, the waiting for something more. But love, he wasn’t sure what love is all about.  
He met a lot of different people and they always needed something from him: affection, warmth, and understanding. Shuji had long ago come to terms that he was an absolute failure at relationships and really never had a need for it.  
Understanding, comfort, shared interests, memories, laughing together about silly things or crying while watching a movie with a sad ending, a shoulder he can lean on during his most difficult moments and just cry his heart out; things that should be shared with your most precious one. Sure he did not have one but he had friends for this. He had Akira and he was satisfied with that.  
But staying alone and still feeling Akira lips and Akira words open something new inside him, maybe he was wrong. Again. Kiritani Shuji doesn’t understand anything about love and he can be so blind sometimes. Other people’s souls were a mystery to him and Akira’s soul and Akira’s heart that the latter opened just few minutes ago made him think that he is an idiot for not noticing his friend’s feeling. Does he really need time to understand or maybe he’s just confused? Not at all, he just felt the fluttering of his heartbeat and the absence of warm hands embracing him few minutes ago.  
The next day Akira behavior wasn’t strange for him, he knew that his friend needed some time and he could wait, he wasn’t sure how long Akira was waiting for him, witnessing his other relationships. It’s only fair.  
When he kissed Akira on the lips, looking into his eyes, he wondered how could he have missed that expression, how blind he was and he whispered gently:  
“This is our second kiss.”  
“Not really our second,” Akira turned his head in embarrassment but when their eyes met he said with a disarming honest smile, “I kissed you million times, while you were sleeping.”  
Shuji laughed and he felt a sudden urge to kiss Akira another million times and make him forget about everything that could make him sad or give him worry, to protect him, to feel his hands holding him gently, to feel those lips kissing him, to cherish him, to see his wide smiles and hear his loud laughs. And a sudden thought crossed his mind, maybe this is love.

  


 _True love stories never have endings._

  


  
_Richard Bach_   



End file.
